1st Circuit's decision serves as stark reminder to comply with ADA

Sometimes a case is worth reporting on because it highlights what can go wrong for an employer. A recent decision by the U.S. 1st Circuit Court of Appeals (whose rulings apply to all Maine, Masschusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island employers) is a stark reminder that a failure to manage an employee's accommodation request properly can be very costly. Note our article is based solely on the reported facts in a court decision. No doubt there's more to the story; there always is.

Background

Ryan Burnett worked as an associate at a call center in South Portland, Maine, taking room reservations for a hotel group. The call center was located in a golf clubhouse, whose public entrance had large, heavy wooden doors.

Burnett used a wheelchair and struggled to pull open the front doors each morning. In August 2014, he sent a message to the office manager requesting "push button, automatic doors" be installed, explaining the "doors are heavy and hard to hold open while I push myself through without them closing on me."

The office manager forwarded Burnett's message to two members of leadership, including HR. A few weeks later, HR contacted the individual responsible for ensuring the building was up to code and asked "if the set of large wooden doors used to enter the lobby of the clubhouse [was] . . . compliant" with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). He responded the following week, "As constructed when the building was built, yes." No one acknowledged or responded to Burnett's complaint.